Or at least the Academy Awards on March 4 should result in some satisfying winners, if today’s nominations reveals are any guide.

With an impressive, field-leading 13 nominations, Guillermo del Toro’s achingly beautiful Cold War fairy tale “The Shape of Water” is unmistakably the Best Picture front-runner now. The mute-woman/man-monster love story also got a boost from the fact that its closest competitor for the top prize so far in this awards season, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri,” failed to nab a nod from the academy’s directors branch.

Nominations for the 90th Oscars were announced on Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2018. (Photo by Matt Sayles/Invision/AP, File)

This image released by A24 Films shows director Greta Gerwig on the set of “Lady Bird.” Gerwig was nominated for an Oscar for best director, Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2018. The 90th Oscars will air live on ABC on Sunday, March 4. (Merie Wallace/A24 via AP)

FILE – In this Feb. 9, 2017 file photo, Jordan Peele poses for a portrait to promote his film, “Get Out,” in Los Angeles. Peele was nominated for an Oscar for best original screenplay as well as best director on Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2018. The 90th Oscars will air live on ABC on Sunday, March 4.(Photo by Rich Fury/Invision/AP, File)

This combination photo shows Guillermo del Toro, left, and Vanessa Taylor at the premiere of “The Shape of Water” in Beverly Hills, Calif. Del Toro and Taylor were nominated for an Oscar for best original screenplay on Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2018. The 90th Oscars will air live on ABC on Sunday, March 4. (Photos by Willy Sanjuan/Invision/AP)

This image released by Focus Features shows Paul Thomas Anderson on the set of “Phantom Thread.” Anderson was nominated for an Oscar for best director, Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2018. The 90th Oscars will air live on ABC on Sunday, March 4. (Laurie Sparham/Focus Features via AP)

This image released by Universal Pictures shows Daniel Kaluuya in a scene from, “Get Out.” Kaluuya was nominated for an Oscar for best actor on Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2018. The 90th Oscars will air live on ABC on Sunday, March 4. (Universal Pictures via AP)

This image released by Sony Pictures Classics shows Timothee Chalamet in a scene from “Call Me By Your Name.” Chalamet was nominated for an Oscar for best actor on Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2018. The 90th Oscars will air live on ABC on Sunday, March 4. (Sony Pictures Classics via AP)

This image released by A24 Films shows Saoirse Ronan in a scene from “Lady Bird.” Ronan was nominated for an Oscar for best actress on Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2018. The 90th Oscars will air live on ABC on Sunday, March 4. (Merie Wallace/A24 via AP)

In this image released by Focus Features, Vicky Krieps, left, and Daniel Day-Lewis appear in a scene from “Phantom Thread.” The film was nominated for an Oscar for best picture on Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2018. The 90th Oscars will air live on ABC on Sunday, March 4. (Laurie Sparham/Focus Features via AP)

In this image released by Focus Features, Lesley Manville appears in a scene from “Phantom Thread.” Manville was nominated for an Oscar for best supporting actress on Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2018. The 90th Oscars will air live on ABC on Sunday, March 4. (Laurie Sparham/Focus Features via AP)

This image released by A24 Films shows Saoirse Ronan, left, and Lucas Hedges in a scene from “Lady Bird.” The film was nominated for an Oscar for best picture on Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2018. The 90th Oscars will air live on ABC on Sunday, March 4. (Merie Wallace/A24 via AP)

This image released by Fox Searchlight Pictures shows Woody Harrelson, center, and Sam Rockwell in a scene from “Three Billboards Outside ebbing, Missouri.” Harrelson and Rockwell were nominated for an Oscar for best supporting actor on Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2018. The 90th Oscars will air live on ABC on Sunday, March 4. (Fox Searchlight Pictures via AP)

This image released by Focus Features shows Gary Oldman as Winston Churchill in a scene from “Darkest Hour.” The film was nominated for an Oscar for best picture on Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2018. The 90th Oscars will air live on ABC on Sunday, March 4. (Jack English/Focus Features via AP)

This image released by Netflix shows a scene from the film “Mudbound.” Rachel Morrison was nominated for an Oscar for best cinematography for the film on Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2018. The 90th Oscars will air live on ABC on Sunday, March 4. (Steve Dietl/Netflix via AP)

This image released by Neon shows Sebastian Stan as Jeff Gillooly, from left, Margot Robbie as Tonya Harding and Julianne Nicholson as Diane Rawlinson in a scene from “I, Tonya.” Robbie was nominated for an Oscar for best actress on Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2018. The 90th Oscars will air live on ABC on Sunday, March 4. (Neon via AP)

This image released by Netflix shows Geza Morcsanyi, left, and Alexandria Borbely in a scene from “On Body and Soul.” The film was nominated for an Oscar for best foreign picture on Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2018. The 90th Oscars will air live on ABC on Sunday, March 4. (Netflix via AP)

This image released by Netflix shows Geza Morcsanyi in a scene from “On Body and Soul.” The film was nominated for an Oscar for best foreign picture on Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2018. The 90th Oscars will air live on ABC on Sunday, March 4. (Netflix via AP)

This image released by Cohen Media Group shows Adel Karam, left, and Kamel El Basha in a scene from “The Insult.” The film was nominated for an Oscar for best foreign picture on Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2018. The 90th Oscars will air live on ABC on Sunday, March 4. (Cohen media Group via AP)

This image released by Sony Pictures shows Christopher Plummer in a scene from “All the Money in the World.” Plummer was nominated for an Oscar for best supporting actor on Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2018. The 90th Oscars will air live on ABC on Sunday, March 4. (Giles Keyte/Sony Pictures via AP)

FILE – In this Sept. 4, 2017 file photo, writer-director Martin McDonagh appears at a press conference for the film ‘Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri’ during the 74th edition of the Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy. McDonagh was nominated for an Oscar for best original screenplay on Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2018. The 90th Oscars will air live on ABC on Sunday, March 4. (Photo by Joel Ryan/Invision/AP, File)

FILE – In this Nov. 7, 2017 file photo, writer-director Greta Gerwig poses for a portrait to promote her film, “Lady Bird” in New York. Gerwig was nominated for an Oscar for best original screenplay and one for best director on Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2018. The 90th Oscars will air live on ABC on Sunday, March 4. (Photo by Brian Ach/Invision/AP)

This image released by Netflix shows Rachel Morrison on the set of the film “Mudbound.” Morrison was nominated for an Oscar for best cinematography on Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2018. The 90th Oscars will air live on ABC on Sunday, March 4. (Steve Dietl/Netflix via AP)

This image released by Netflix shows Rachel Morrison on the set of the film “Mudbound.” Morrison was nominated for an Oscar for best cinematography on Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2018. The 90th Oscars will air live on ABC on Sunday, March 4. (Steve Dietl/Netflix via AP)

That’s a big blow to “Billboard’s” Best Picture chances (it came in third on the nominations count with seven, behind “Shape” and “Dunkirk,” which got eight), though not necessarily a fatal one; remember “Argo”?

Since the Best Picture category was expanded from five to as many as 10 nominees in the last decade – this year there are nine – the movies that have won the most nominations and even actual awards haven’t always taken the top prize, and Directing and Picture winners have increasingly been split between different films.

Perhaps the best expectation “Billboards’” writer-director Martin McDonagh can have at this point is an Original Screenplay sympathy vote for his theatrical if tone-deaf (and considered racist by some but adored by those who love it) film. Which would not be such a beautiful thing if it wins, especially when it’s up against Jordan Peele’s script for “Get Out,” which is generally considered that phenomenal movie’s main hope for a statuette and is, let’s face it, the most original cinematic take on race relations since Spike Lee’s “Do the Right Thing.”

BTW, unlike “Get Out” this year, “Do the Right Thing” wasn’t even nominated for Best Picture of 1989. Another film considered much less woke about race, “Driving Miss Daisy,” won that award, and without a Directing nomination. So don’t give up, “Billboards,” I guess.

McDonagh’s film should do well in the acting categories, as lead Actress Frances McDormand and Supporting Actor Sam Rockwell have already nailed almost every preliminary acting trophy in the kudos-bestowing industry. The only foreseeable hitch in those inevitabilities comes from Rockwell’s co-star Woody Harrelson, who registered the movie’s single subtle performance, also being nominated and possibly splitting the “Billboards” lovers vote. That could open a path for the, by far, most worthy contender, “The Florida Project’s” Willem Dafoe, to take the win.

In the other acting categories, too, showiest and least subtle should take the day for “Darkest Hour’s” Gary Oldman and “I, Tonya’s” Allison Janney, as has been the case in most all recent lead Actor and Supporting Actress races.

Two long and criminally Academy-overlooked directors, del Toro and “Dunkirk’s” Christopher Nolan, are in their first race. Also first-timers, and more-or-less first-time directors, Peele and Greta Gerwig (“Lady Bird”), represent a healthy, creative filmic future. Need I even point out that with del Toro, Gerwig and Peele, the directing category symbolizes a diversity that the academy has struggled to appreciate in recent years? Voters would have also been negligent to not at least partially acknowledge the current #TimesUp moment; alongside Gerwig, only the fifth woman ever nominated for a Directing Oscar, “Mudbound’s” Rachel Morrison became the first-ever female Cinematography nominee Tuesday.

The only returning Directing nominee is Paul Thomas Anderson, and what heartening evidence that academy voters aren’t entirely immune to quiet good taste and delicate presentation that his “Phantom Thread” logged an unexpectedly strong six nominations. Those include ones for lead Actor Daniel Day-Lewis (thanks in part to the 11th hour sex misconduct allegations against James Franco) and Supporting Actress Lesley Manville (and we still love you, Holly Hunter). And if Mark Bridges doesn’t win for “Phantom’s” integral Costume Designs, then we’ll know the academy has no idea what it’s doing.

No #OscarsSoWhite in, at least, the lead Actor and Supporting Actress categories this year. And while the thesp races welcomed such talented newcomers as “Call Me by Your Name’s” Timothee Chalamet, “Get Out’s” Daniel Kaluuya and “I, Tonya’s” Margot Robbie, how about a shout-out to the oldest acting nominee ever, Christopher Plummer, who at 88 did a bang-up job of replacing the disgraced Kevin Spacey in the last-minute reshoots of “All the Money in the World.”

The academy’s Documentary Feature slate is especially strong this time. I know some will lament the absence of the popular Goodall film “Jane,” but the five in the running – “Abacus,” “Faces Places,” “Icarus,” “Last Men in Aleppo” and “Strong Island” – are all outstanding acts of nonfiction cinema, and “Aleppo” in particular stands out as the most harrowing and moving of a number of fine Syria docs released last year. Good show of discernment, voting members.

On the other hand, 2017 was a rare dull year for fictional foreign language films. That Oscar committee did OK with what it had to work with, the pleasant surprise standout nominee being Ildikó Enyedi’s weird and wild “On Body and Soul” from Hungary.

And I guess it’s something that “Logan” is the first comic book movie to earn an Adapted Screenplay nomination, even though I’d hardly put it in the same slam-bang storytelling category as “The Dark Knight.” Or “Deadpool,” for that matter.

But even if the academy still needs to work on appreciating true achievement in superhero movies – c’mon guys, “Wonder Woman” got blanked? – it did get past some traditional anti-fantasy prejudice to acknowledge what was truly a watershed year for elevated genre film.

Consider that “Get Out’s” Jordan Peele is now only the third first-time filmmaker to get Picture, Directing and Screenplay nominations (“Heaven Can Wait’s” Warren Beatty and “Terms of Endearment’s” James L. Brooks were the others). Del Toro hit that trifecta this year, too. But more, “Shape of Water,” his labor of lifelong monster love, is undoubtedly going to win the most Oscars in March. That’s an artistically credible step toward diversity – the movie is about marginalized outsiders coming together to fight the Man, too – the academy can be proud of.

Bob Straus has been covering film at the L.A. Daily News since 1989. He wouldn't say the movies have gotten worse in that time, but they do keep getting harder to love. Fortunately, he still loves them.

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